European Union's role in Iraq

Pursuant to Rule 114(1) of the Rules of Procedure, Ana Maria Gomes (PES, PT), on behalf of the PES Group, has drafted a proposal for a recommendation on the role of the European Union in Iraq.

Bearing in mind that the role of Iraq is vital to the stability of the whole region and of the Middle East at large and that all the political players from every community need to be included in the quest to bring peace to this region, the recommendation invites the Council to:

• maintain the European Union's contribution to the creation of a unified, stable, democratic, secular state respectful of religious freedoms;
• step up efforts to bring the different communities closer together, particularly in the fields of constitutional reform and power sharing;
• develop, in close partnership with the UN, the other international players and the Iraqi authorities, a cohesive long-term plan for reform of the security sector based on the principle of democratic responsibility of the armed forces and placing the emphasis on demobilisation of the militias;
• help Iraq to take advantage of its mineral resources;
• carry out an independent 'audit' of the utilisation of European funding channelled via the UN and the World Bank.

The recommendation recalls that there has been violence within and between its communities and it insists on the fact that no military solution is possible, and even less so one imposed by foreign forces.

The text underlines the need to create a national force for maintaining order that brings together all the communities and that it is necessary to continue to relieve the misfortunes of the Iraqi civilian population, and especially those who are displaced or refugees in neighbouring countries.

Lastly, the recommendation recalls that between 2003 and 2006 the European Union granted Iraq EUR 718.5 million in aid and that European Union funding has been channelled, without any real European oversight, essentially via the UN and the World Bank, into the 'International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq'.